20 Things I'm Thankful For

Great idea, Shelly-belly.  After the last two stressful Thanksgivings, I have MUCH to be thankful for this year.

1.  Kolby's job 

2.  Dad's returning health

3.  Kolby

4.  My girls

5.  My parents

6.  Family

7.  Old friends

8.  Music

9.  Renting

10.  Rain

11.  Down time

12.  Books

13.  Coffee

14.  Sleep

15.  Health

16.  Good food

17.  School

18.  Beaches

19.  Chocolate

20.  Weekends

Living in the Northwest too long..or maybe just back to my roots?

Confession:  I've become a bit of a nut about food lately.  (Too much time on my hands?) 

I realize this will sound crazy, and I might slack off and change my ways six months from now, and also that really nobody ever cares to hear criticism about the food we eat, and also that two posts down there's a picture of my girls eating high fructose corn syrup on a stick.  But there's a story here, so follow me.  For the last few months I've been reading a lot about local sustainable agriculture.   Now that the farmer's market has closed for the season,  I've signed us up for Community Supported Agriculture box (a big box of produce from local farms).   We bought a cow.  Okay, part of a cow.  But it was a happy cow, roaming the ranch eating pesticide free grass until it ended up in my freezer.  (It's delicious, by the way.)  I pay far too much for milk and eggs now.  And I've been driving Kolby crazy with my talk of fake vs. whole foods.

By the way, my mom and dad are entirely responsible (to blame?) for this.  Local sustainable agriculture?  Can't get much more local and sustainable than growing it all in your gigantor backyard, making your children get up in wee hours of the morning to pick the weeds (uphill both ways.  In the heat.  And the snow.), canning and freezing what you can't eat to get thru winter.  Happy food animals?  Those deer we hunted were happy as can be roaming the hills.  Never saw a cage, a kernel of corn, or an antibiotic or hormone before ending up in our stew.  (This doesn't mean I'll ever be able to gag down venison though.)   And once a week we'd make the 3-5 mile drive out to Front Line Dairy to buy huge reusable glass jugs of milk from cows we pet and fed grass thru the fence.  So maybe this isn't so nutty.

But yesterday I'm at the grocery store with Madeline and she asks if we can buy a pear that is from Japan.   She was very excited about that fact, which was advertised on the produce sign.  I told her no, we can't buy that pear because it had to ride a 747 to get to our grocery store and do you know how much petroleum is wrapped up in getting that pear to our table?  I start telling her about eating locally grown foods, treating our food animals humanely, not using pesticides, chemical fertilizers, hormones,  blah blah blah.  You get the picture.

Madeline listens the whole time, and then says, "Hey mom?  Right now you're really reminding me of those crazy kids we saw screaming and waving signs outside that store that sells fur coats in Portland." 

Mmm Mmm Good

I always hated tomato soup when the only tomato soup I'd ever had was Campbell's.   Then about 10 years ago I discovered the chunky tomato soup at The Soup Kitchen in Sugarhouse, and have been making homemade tomato soup ever since.  

There is a delicatessen I loved in Portland called Elephants Deli.  They have so many tasty treats there, but one of their yummiest is their orange tomato soup.  And I just found the recipe!  I made it tonight and the girls said this one is "The Best Thing Ever!"   Serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches on sourdough.  (Kolby wasn't home tonight, but all tomato soup makes him gag, so he doesn't get to vote.)   Don't get scared off by the orange juice.  It is not overpowering at all.  Just makes it crazy good.

Enjoy!  (And if you've never tried anything but canned Campbell's, you should really try this one).

Elephant Deli Tomato Orange Soup

1/4 cup butter  (this is half what the original recipe called for)

1/2 medium onion, diced

2  15oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon of fresh

1 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup of heavy cream * 

In a saucepan, melt the butter.  Add diced onion and saute until translucent.   Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, baking soda, and thyme.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes.   Puree in a food processor or blender.  (I use my Braun hand blender, and do it right in the pan, and I leave a few chunks.)  Return to pan and stir in the orange juice.   Heat thru.  Stir in cream.  Serve.

*The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of cream, which I used this time, but it was a little creamier than necessary, in my opinion.  I'll use half that next time.  However, don't substitute with lower fat options like half and half or milk.  They separate and give it a weird texture, and you'll have to use a lot more to get a good color.  1/4 cup  of full fat stuff should give you a perfectly creamy soup.

The Perfect Dream

For a long time, Amelia wouldn't tell me her dreams because she thought they wouldn't come true if she told them.   She'd just say, "I had a willy good dweam last night.  But I can't tell you.  It's a seekwet."

This morning she woke up and said, "I had the best dream last night.  We were in a candy store and I found a $100 and a few pennies, and I showed them to you and you said I could buy candy.  So I bought a huge lollipop and when I finished eating it I handed the stick to Maddie and she said, "Can I eat it?" because even the stick was candy, and I said, "No.  You can hold it while I wash my hands."  So I washed my hands and then I ate the lollipop stick, and then I had another huge lollipop, and it went on and on and on until I threw up."  

I don't think she'd ever even had one of those huge lollipops.   So today  when I was walking around Pike's Place with Pam and Rex, we saw a candy store selling them, and I decided to bring a couple home for the girls.  

Amelia was disappointed that Maddie got one too (because it didn't happen that way in her dream).  And it was a bummer that the stick wasn't candy either.

The dog ate my homework. Seriously.

Amelia came home with a family homework assignment to decorate an 11x14 turkey.  It had just two requirements:  that we work on it as a family, and that we glue something on it.  

So we went to the store, and Amelia picked out Fruity Pebbles for the feathers, I'm sure because she knew there would be leftovers for eatin'.   Fruity Pebbles are delicious!  We carefully sorted them by color, and glued them to the feathers.  We used oatmeal and plain rice krispies for the body.  Then Madeline found some beads to use for the feet.  There was LOTS of glue involved.  The turkey was gorgeous.

And then we went to bed and left the turkey to dry on the ottoman.   Can you see what's coming?  Why didn't we?

The next morning, we're loading up backpacks for school, and where's turkey?  Did Dad put it somewhere?  Amelia, did you put it in your backpack already?  And then I see two beads on the floor.   Turkey toes.  But nothing else...I wander the house and find no turkey remains.  Usually Gabby isn't so thorough.  Amelia is reaching hysteria at this point, still thinking turkey is just misplaced.  And then I find a piece of paper, maybe one inch square, a bit soggy, with just one glue soaked blue Fruity Pebble still attached.  

Amelia bursts into tears, hating her dog, who just last week chewed a hole through her trick or treat bag and ate all her Halloween candy. 

Madeline bursts into tears, afraid that Elmer's Glue is toxic and the dog will die, forgetting that Gabby survived the toxic chocolate and plastic candy wrappers from Mia's trick or treat bag.  

Amelia cries harder because her sister is such an animal-loving jerk.

Eventually, the drama ebbs and the girls go to school,  Amelia armed with the very believable excuse that the dog ate her homework.  

We've come a long way, Baby.

I am proud of us.  I believe that Barack Obama was elected not because of the color of his skin, but because Americans have faith that he will be a good leader.   This was a tough election.  Our country is fighting two wars.  We are facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.  We have people losing their homes daily.  Unemployment is escalating.  Many families have to choose between buying groceries or buying antibiotics.  It's a daunting task for any leader to take on.  We had two great candidates, and I really believe they both would have done a fine job.  They are good men.  Americans really searched within themselves this election to determine what mattered  and vote for the candidate they felt best represented the issues important to them, rather than just voting down party lines.  That in itself is huge--that we as citizens of the United States really honored the privilege and responsibility of voting.   And for that, I'm proud of us.  We showed up in record numbers.  We showed that we as a country care. 

The fact that our country has progressed to the point where we could elect a black man, that many Americans looked within themselves and faced the ugly remains of racism in their hearts, and decided that color doesn't matter, it still moves me to tears.    I am overwhelmed by emotions when I see this photo.   It makes me proud that we have come this far.  That this is the country my children will grow up knowing.

Just fifty years ago a hospital could turn away a dying black child because of the color of his skin.  Fifty years ago we had separate bathrooms and drinking fountains for blacks and whites. Fifty years ago blacks had to ride in the back of the bus.  They had to sleep in their cars when weary from traveling because they couldn't find a motel that allowed them.  In some states they were prevented from voting.  And horrible atrocities against them were overlooked, and sometimes even perpetrated by law enforcement.  But today we are brothers and sisters.

For me, since Tuesday, not much has changed.   Although I am proud of our country for coming so far, the world still looks the same to me.  But for those little children living in the projects on the Southside of Chicago or New York, they have new hope today.   This  American Dream, this belief in equal opportunity for all, this belief that we can be anything, achieve anything, that the sky's the limit.  Now these kids can see it.  The sky is is not just the limit for white kids, the sky is the limit for all kids.    

I heard this Cat Stevens song while driving to school on Election Day.  Hearing it, I was overwhelmed by feelings of hope for our country.    

"Oh, I've been smiling lately,

dreaming about the world as one

And I believe it could be,

Some day it's going to come."

This morning we're eating my grandma's Swedish Pancakes.

Love you, Grandma.

Bedtime routine

Kolby sings to the girls at night as part of the bedtime routine.  It used to put Amelia to sleep, but now they love singing along.   I especially love listeing to them sing this Tom Petty song.  

I apologize for the terrible job I did filming.

Show off

I went to the gym with Kolby this weekend so he could show me some of the stuff he's been doing with a personal trainer.  It was all going pretty well, I felt like I was getting a good workout and learning some new things.  

Then he picked up a big leather ball and said, "Okay, we're just going to throw this medicine ball back and forth.  It's heavy, so get ready."  

"OOOOOOF!"

Once I was able to inflate my lungs again, I picked myself up off the floor and we found something else to do.

Trick or Treat!

We survived Halloween. I worked on parties for both girls' classes all week, so I spent most of the day getting ready for those. At 2:00 the kids had their costume parade through the school, and then class parties.  (I only worked in Amelia's).




Some knucklehead decided it would be fun to pull the fire alarm, so we could all stand outside in the mud and rain for the last 15 minutes of school.  

We were debating all day where to do our trick or treating because of the rain.  Microsoft has trick or treating and parties around campus, but we were told you should choose either the neighborhood or Microsoft because traffic was insane getting off campus.  After school the rain stopped and skies cleared a bit, so we decided to stick around the neighborhood.

People at school had warned that we get lots of trick or treaters.  I had already bought 6 bags, but asked Kolby to pick up a couple more.  He came home with 6 more bags, which I thought was a bit extreme.  He headed out trick or treating with the girls and  I never got a chance to sit down.   We went through 12 bags of candy in two hours.  When Kolby and the girls got home, they even dumped their Mounds and Almond Joys in the bowl (big sacrifice) so they could keep handing out candy, but eventually we hit the bottom of the bowl and had to just turn off the lights and stop answering the door. 

And now we're gorging ourselves on candy.